Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

# Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill The Scottish Parliament introduced this government bill to fundamentally reform the private rental housing market. The legislation was driven by concerns that the existing system of short assured tenancies gave landlords excessive flexibility to end tenancies and increase rents, creating housing instability for tenants and contributing to a shortage of affordable, secure rental accommodation. The bill sought to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants by making the private rental sector more predictable and sustainable for those renting their homes. The bill's main mechanism was to replace short assured tenancies with a new form of open-ended tenancy without fixed terms, meaning tenants could only be evicted on specific grounds rather than at the landlord's discretion when a lease ended. It introduced greater protections around rent increases, limiting them to once per year and tying them to inflation measures. The legislation also strengthened tenant rights regarding repairs and maintenance, extended notice periods for evictions, and removed certain "no-fault" eviction grounds that had previously allowed landlords to recover properties. The bill received Royal Assent in December 2016 and came fully into force in December 2017, substantially reshaping Scotland's private rental sector and establishing it as having some of the UK's most tenant-protective regulations.

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